Boyd
Saturday, he spent the day on the golf course with Archie and Oliver—their monthly ritual so to speak.
If he were honest with himself, he was only there for the golf carts and the company.
Truth be told, he was awful at the sport.
If he didn’t hit anyone with that stupid stick, the trip was considered a success.
“How is Luka doing?” Archie asked, carefully selecting his club. “Have you two chatted lately?”
Archie froze mid-swing. Oliver crooked his brow at him. “Luka was a bully?”
“Wait…” Archie said very slowly. “You’re dating her? ”
Boyd sighed and indicated the ball on the ground. “You might want to hit that before I start this conversation.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Oliver groaned while Archie quickly focused back on the task at hand.
Once the ball was flying in the air, Boyd spewed everything. “I met her at a bar. I didn’t know who she was but when I offered her a drink, she declined because Luka gave her hell in school. I offered her my number anyway and—” Boyd shrugged, “—she texted me the next morning.”
“Your son fucked up her high school experience and you gave her your number? Great move, my guy.” Oliver snorted and bumped Boyd’s arm.
Archie rolled his eyes. “I want to know what happened after the text.”
Boyd fought the heat rising on his face. “We met for coffee.”
Oliver tilted his head and started grinning. “Are you blushing ?”
“It didn’t stop with coffee, did it?” Archie pressed.
Boyd twisted a lock of his beard between his fingers. “Well, we went out again the next day.”
“This is going to be so fucking messy,” Archie groaned. “What happened to your clean, easy one-night fucks?”
“Do you kiss your wife with that mouth?” Oliver teased.
While he was on a roll of confessing things… “We are going out again tomorrow.”
Oliver’s brows disappeared behind his hairline. “Lord have mercy. She’s what? Fifteen years younger than you? Are you sure your old ass can keep up?” Oliver grunted when Boyd socked him in the chest. “Fine, I’ll be serious.”
Archie crossed his arms, trying to read his friend. “So, is this just a fling to make up for Luka’s fuck up? Or are you serious about her?”
“It’s serious.” With another deep inhale, he added, “As serious as she wants it to be. She said she enjoyed our time together, but she’s reluctant because of Luka.”
“Does he know?”
“No and honestly, I have no clue how to talk to him about it because I’m mad as hell at him.”
“We were all young and dumb at some point.” Archie had always been the voice of reason for the trio. “See how far she wants to take this. No need to jump the gun, you only just met her.”
“Can we at least meet her? I mean, if she’s after some sort of revenge and only there to take advantage of you, we’ll figure it out.”
Boyd chuckled to himself, knowing Oliver’s worries weren’t that absurd. After all, that’s how this whole thing started: revenge. Only it had shifted to something so much more. At least, Boyd hoped so.
“I’ll make sure Oliver behaves once you are ready to introduce her to us.”
Boyd nodded and tolerated the onslaught of questions about Queenie.
Talking to them about her felt good. He could definitely see her as the type of woman he’d take home.
If it weren’t for Luka, he would be seriously considering a long-term relationship—something he hadn’t thought about in years.
But, keeping her history in mind, he didn’t want to get too attached if she decided to leave.
As always, Boyd played an awful game, but at least his rather unprofessional swing didn’t injure anyone.
After Oliver said his farewells and wandered towards his car, Archie squeezed his shoulder. “I can see that this woman is special to you; it’s clear in the way you talk about her. Just take it slow and see where things go. It will all clear up and I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Thank you. Hug Lee-Ann and the kids for me.”
Archie gave him a wink and walked off.
Boyd’s gate buzzer sounded early the next morning. He let Queenie in and made his way down to the visitor’s spots. The light blue romper she wore took his breath away; flowing nicely along her legs but hugging her curves flawlessly.
“You look stunning,” he complimented, taking her hand and spinning her around.
“You’re the sweetest; thank you. Let’s hope I don’t get it all messy when I drool over this brunch you’ve made.”
With a kiss to her forehead, he took her hand and bag. “I’ll lend you a shirt to throw over.” As they stepped into his apartment, he asked, “How is your quilting coming along?”
“Good. Everything’s cut, I just need to arrange it.”
“I imagine your floor is quite the mess right now.”
“Very much so,” Queenie laughed.
He already had the table set. Queenie had double and triple checked throughout the week, asking yet again if she could bring anything, but he’d declined every time. He enjoyed cooking. Doing so for someone he cared about only made it sweeter.
“Oh,” Queenie gasped. “You went above and beyond.” She took in the sight on the table: eggs, bacon, hash browns and piles of muffins and pancakes. “I could have at least brought the bagels.”
“I didn’t want you to.” He pulled her chair out, then ran to dig an old t-shirt out of his closet. When he came back, he helped her into the too-big shirt and grinned at the sight of her. “There is really no need to feel bad. I enjoyed preparing this for you.”
“I really appreciate it.”
Over brunch, they fell into light conversation about their week.
Queenie had been spending some of her nights with her goddaughter, while work had kept her on her toes.
She also shamelessly laughed when he told her about his golfing disaster, but loved that his friends still had him coming with them anyway.
“What I would give to see that.”
“Maybe one day I’ll take you, but only if you promise to stay ten feet away from me when I have a club in my hands.”
“I promise.”
She helped him clean and store away the food before they made their way down to his truck. After a while on the highway he noticed her arm changing colour. It was faint, but definitely not the same rosy tone as the rest of her skin.
Reaching out, he rubbed his thumb over the skin, finding it cool to the touch. “Are you cold?”
Queenie, who had been checking the park’s schedule on her phone, followed his gaze. “Oh, don’t worry about it.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, immediately adjusting the air conditioning anyway.
“God, you might actually give me a cavity. But really, it’s fine. Blood circulates differently in that arm.”
“But it doesn’t hurt?”
Queenie reached over and brushed her fingers along his cheek. “No, I’m not in any pain.”
Boyd nodded, but kept a close eye on the temperature in the car. When the boardwalk came into view, Queenie’s face lit up—and Boyd loved it.
Once the engine was off, Queenie gathered herself to get out of the car. Then she cast a knowing glance over her shoulder. “I’ll wait.”
“My queen,” he teased lightly as he held her door and reached for her hand.
“Thank you, very thoughtful of you.” She strapped her matching blue backpack over her shoulders, then took Boyd’s arm. They got their wristbands and beelined for the Bullet—the biggest roller coaster in the park.
“You might not go on a third date with me once you hear me scream like a girl,” Boyd admonished.
“It’s okay, you can hold my hand if you get scared,” Queenie teased, resting against his arm.
“You’re really one of those adrenaline junkies, huh?”
“You could say that,” she giggled. “When was the last time you went on a roller coaster?”
“Ages ago,” he admitted.
“Maybe I’ll save asking about Six Flags until later.”
“I think that’s a good idea.”
Though he was not a man to be scared easily, he happily took Queenie’s offered hand once they were strapped in. She was excitedly wiggling in her seat, as they climbed to the peak before the first drop. His heart dropped the moment the clicking started.
Fuck . Maybe he was a scaredy-cat after all. Queenie only squeezed his hand tighter.
“You’re doing great. It’ll be over before you know it.”
Then they fell over the edge, and his lungs emptied in a scream.
His gut leapt into his throat. They swirled through the air and soon the scream turned into a high-pitched laugh and the churning in his stomach gave way to butterflies.
When they slowed and stopped, he grinned over at her. “Let’s go again.”
Queenie laughed, allowing him to help her out of her seat. “Well let’s get back into line.”
They rode three more times before deciding it was a good idea to move on to the next.
They sat in the observation tower, gauging the height before Boyd made his decision on braving the dreaded Drop Zone.
With her feet dangling and taking everything in, Queenie held his hand, fingers laced through his.
Being with her felt… easy. Nothing felt forced, and she didn’t chastise him for being scared of the rides.
Actually, she’d been the one to suggest the tower to test his fear of heights first.
“I might opt out of the drop tower,” he admitted, the screams coming from the ride making his stomach flip—and not in a good way.
“That’s okay. Would you be okay if I went on my own?”
“Only if you go on the Ferris wheel with me after?”
Queenie gave him that smile that melted his heart. “I will.”
He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. “This is fun.”
“Me testing your boundaries is fun ?” she asked with a laugh.
“You testing and accepting them is.”
Boyd stood by and watched as Queenie took her place on the Drop Zone and was lifted to the top.
The spinning platform dropped without warning, and Boyd’s knees nearly gave out just watching.
Once she was back on the ground, Queenie launched herself into his arms with messy hair and the brightest grin he’d ever seen.
“So brave,” he praised, pulling her close by a finger under her chin.
He stole a kiss, and they loaded up on snacks before Queenie held up her end of the deal.
After the Ferris wheel, Boyd even snagged her a fluffy teddy bear from one of the game booths.
She carried that silly bear around pridefully.
As the crowd thickened and the lines became too long to make the wait worth it, they decided to leave.
With her bear in her lap, Queenie’s head fell back against the headrest and she closed her eyes. “That was a lovely date.”
“A memorable day.” Before starting the engine, he leaned in and pecked her cheek. “Thank you.”
Queenie fidgeted with her teddy as they drove, eventually breaking the silence lingering between them. “Allison and her husband asked to meet you.”
Boyd tried to hide how nervous they made him. “Is that something you would want?”
“Yes, because I like where we are heading.”
“Then I would like to meet them too.”
“You would?”
“Why wouldn’t I? You said they are a big part of your life.”
Queenie sighed, but he couldn’t quite decipher the tone. “They want to get a feel for you. I mean, because of the whole Luka thing.”
“I understand. That doesn’t change my mind.” She slowly nodded, and Boyd was grateful that the subject allowed him to broach a topic that had been bugging him all week. “How do you want me to handle Luka? Because I can see you becoming a big part of my life if you are willing.”
Queenie pondered over her answer for a brief moment. “I’m not sure to be honest. But I have thought about it, and I’ll never make you choose. Does he know?”
He shook his head. “I wanted to speak to you first.”
Focusing on the bear in her arms, she said, “I’ll be civil if he can be too.”
“If he can’t do that, he won’t step foot near you.” His words came out sounding more like a threat than he’d anticipated, but it clearly made her feel treasured. She seemed to relax. “I will be very clear about that with him. I won’t tolerate any sort of unkindness towards you.”
“Thank you. I guess I’m just scared of the unknown. I can’t predict how he’ll react.”
“Let me handle that. He’s my son and a grown adult. If he can’t deal with it appropriately, he won’t be around you.”
That visibly relieved her, Queenie’s tense shoulders falling forwards again and her lips relaxing into that smile that drew him in that night at the bar.